Miss Victoria Hansell v One Stop Stores Limited Record of An Attended Hearing at the Employment Tribunal — 2024

Miss Hansell worked for One Stop Stores Limited as a Shift Manager from 3 August 2019 until she resigned on 13 July 2022. She claimed constructive unfair dismissal and, in the alternative, automatic unfair dismissal for making protected disclosures. The matters relied on included two sewage leaks in October 2019, alleged failures over PPE during the first Covid lockdown, air-conditioning faults in 2021, cleaning and Covid-related issues, CCTV and Maglock faults, alleged inability to take breaks, an alleged threat about sickness absence, and the handling of SSP queries.

The tribunal preferred the evidence of the Respondent's witnesses and found that the Claimant's evidence was at times lacking in credibility because of chronology errors and exaggeration. It found that the October 2019 events were two separate leaks, that damage to stock was minimal, that the Claimant was not disciplined for throwing stock away, that she was able to take regular breaks, that there was no forged cleaning signature, and that Mr Hall did not threaten her over sickness absence. It also found that Mr Hall was supportive and flexible, including arranging shifts around her second job and helping with payroll and SSP queries.

Applying Western Excavating (ECC) Ltd v Sharp and Lewis v Motorworld Garages Ltd, the tribunal held that none of the matters relied on, taken individually or together, amounted to a repudiatory breach of the implied term of trust and confidence or a final straw, and the resignation was not shown to be in response to any breach. On the protected disclosure claim, it held that most of the alleged disclosures were not protected disclosures at all; the PPE complaint might arguably have been one, but it was not made in the public interest and there was no evidence of retaliatory treatment. The air-conditioning and other maintenance complaints were treated as reports of malfunction rather than qualifying disclosures. Both claims were dismissed and no compensation was awarded.